Evaporative cooling unit



March 7, 1944. R. D. THORNTON 2,343,320

EVAPORATIVE COOLING UNIT Filed Nov. 23, 1942 irrap/rr/ Patented Mar. 7, 1944- UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE EVAPORATIVE COOLING UNIT Richard D. Thornton, Austin, Tex, assignor of. one-half-to George-W. Thornton, Dallas, ,Tex.

ApplieationNovember 23. 1942., SerialNo. 466,635

(.01; zen-30) 5 Claims;

This invention relates toevaporative cooling apparatusand it has particular reference to a rotary, filter mat.

The principal object of the invention is to provide anair cooling element designed for adaptation tothezcabinet of conventional types of evaporati've coolingunits which utilize. a fan or blower in .theroabinet, the said invention including a cirmaintaining: a supply of water above for" precipitation through the'filter mats. By dispensing with" the pumpand the motor for operating: the same, not only is there an obvioussaving in cost but" likewise a-considerable saving in time usually spent in maintenance work, made necessary in part by frequent motor repairs and replacements since the pump motor, in many instances; is exposed toithe deteriorating efiects of moisture during operating periods of the unit.

Another object: of the invention is to provide a. filter mat assembly and impeller which is in stalled: in. its entirety in a panel which latter will conveniently replace the mat of a conventionalair'coolingunit'andgwh'ich panel is mountedin the cabinet in a manner similar to that customarily employedfor' mounting the stationarymat.

With thezforegoingobjects as paramount, the invention has particular reference to certain features of accomplishment, to become manifest as the description proceeds, taken in connection with, the. accompanying drawing; wherein:

Figure 1 isa perspective view of a conventionaL type of evaporative cooling unit with por-'- .tionsbrcken away and showingthe rotary mat'of 'the invention installed.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the panel and mat impeller of the invention, the panel being partly broken away.

FigureS is a detail perspective view of the exterior flanged portien of the foraminous mat casmg.

.Eigure4- is a detail view of the mat per se.

Figure 5-isa detail view of the impeller, and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view-of the impeller flange in circumferential section, showing the cups thereon.

Continuing with a more detailed description of'the drawing'refer'ence is primarily made to Figure 1 wherein numeral l0 denotes a cabinet of the kind ordinarily used in constructing well known types of evaporative cooling units. This cabinet has an open rear end While its front end is provided with a louvered open ng with which the exhaust Hof the blower l2 communicates. Usually, a filter mat of conforming proportions is placed in the open rear end of the cabinet and while not shown in the drawing, a motor operates the blower IZ, causing air to be drawn through the mat, into the side intakes I3 of the blower housing-and exhausted through the front of the cabinet. As stated previously, a pump and a pump operating motor'is usually required toelevate water from the pump or reservoir l4 and discharge it into channels or troughs conveniently disposed above the mat or mats in the cabinet, to trickle downwardly through the mats to saturate them, thereby reducingthe temperature of the air moving through the mats.

means are assembled and mounted over the opening in the panel l5 inthe manner shown inFiguresl and 2. and these include thep-revious filter mat ILcomposed of any suitable type of material, usually aspenwoodor. cottonwood shavings enclosed in a netted container of fabric. This mat is of, circular shape and is received in the outer section of thecasing, shown in detail in Figure 3 and consists of a flange or rim IS on which is aflixed the screen IS. The flange I8 is reinforced with radial spokes 20; extending from a centrally disposed hub 25. The-'flange' is also provided with annularly spaced apertures 22, to whichref'erence will be later made.

Themean by which air current induced by the blower through the mat I! causes the latter to revolve is shown in Figure 5 in detail and consis-ts of'an annular flange 23 having thereon an impellercomprised of radially extending vanes 24 which are either formed in a single piece with the flange as by die stamping or by aflixing the vanes to the flange by welding or other means. A hub 25 is formed centrally of the vanes and when assembled with the companion parts, the hub receives the stub shaft 25, the latter passing through the aperture 21 in the mat l1 and through the hub 2| complementary to the stub 26. The vaned element, just described, which will be hereinafter referred to simply as the impeller, has a screen 28 which serves, with the screen Hi, to enclose the mat l1 without retarding to any material degree, the air passing therethrough. V

Circumferentially disposed in spaced relation about the perimeter of the impeller is a plurality of cups 29. The open ends of these cups face in the direction of rotation of the impeller and as they pass through the liquid containedin the reservoir M of the cabinet l0, they dip up a quantity of the liquid and in ascending, the liquid enters an aperture 30, embraced by each cup in the impeller flange 23 and continuing through one of the corresponding aertures 22, previously mentioned as being in the flange l8 and which register with apertures 30, the liquid will enter the mat I! enclosed between the flanged elements.

With the elements of the mat assembly properly joined together as explained the are mounted as one unit on the inside of the panel 15, as shown in Figure 2. As a means for supporting the assembly, a horizontal angle iron brac 3| is affixed across the front of the panel to provide a support for the hearin which carries the outer end of the stub shaft 26. This is preferably a frictionless type of bearing as is likewise the bearing in which the inner end of shaft 26 is joumaled. This latter bearin is supported by a V-shaped arrangement of braces 32 (Figure 1) although only one of such braces is shown.

When the panel I5 is set into place in the cabinet l0, and the blower started, the air constrained thereby to enter the cabinet through the mat I! will, by reason of the angular faces of the vanes 24, cause the entire mat assembly to revolve, the rotative speed being primarily determined by the velocity of the air, combined with the angular setting of the vanes 24.

It is therefore apparent that as the mat assembly rotates, the liquid picked up by the cups 29 on the impeller flange will be deposited by each cup successively onto the periphery of the mat and the latter being pervious, the liquid will permeate the same and maintain it in a reasonably saturated condition during all operative periods of the blower.

In most conventional types of evaporative coo ers, there exists an objectionable feature which is that the point in the mat, usually the center thereof, where the air velocity is greatest, evaporation is such that the fiber of the mat is quite dry while surrounding portions thereof are overly moist. This is due to the fact that while the Wafer delivered to the mat is uniformly distributed, the air drawn therethrough is not.

Moreover,

water and any foreign matter, a centrifugal force tending to thrust the same toward the edges of the mat and out of the same.

Manifestly, the construction as shown and described i capable of some modification and such modification as may be construed to fall within the scope and meaning of the appended claims is also considered to be within the spirit and intent of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In an evaporative air cooling apparatus,

a a cabinet having openings in each end and a these conventional mats quickly becomes odoris present a cleansing or continuous flushing action by reason of the rotative movement of the mat, which has the effect of imparting to the liquid reservoir in the bottom thereof, a fan in said cabinet for moving air therethrough, a

' said cabinet and having a central opening therein, a circular pervious air filter mat, a pair of screens between which said mat is interposed and having annular relatively telescoping flanges forming with said screens a casing for said mat, said flanges being provided with aligned and circumferentially spaced apertures, a series of radial vanes overlying one of said screens and against which air is drawn by said fan to effect rotation thereof and said mat, a cup covering each of the aligned apertures in said flanged elements, a shaft rotatably supported centrally of the opening in said panel and on which said mat casing is mounted for rotation whereby said cups will successively enter said reservoir and elevate water therefrom to be deposited onto said mat through said apertures.

2. In an evaporative air cooling apparatus, a cabinet having a fan therein for moving air therethrough and provided with a water reservoir in the bottom thereof, a panel receivable in one open end of said cabinet having an opening therein, a pervious filter mat, a foraminous casing therefor having telescopically related flanges and rotatably disposed in the opening in said panel, means integral with one of said flanges, having vanes struck therefrom and overlying one face of said casing and influenced to rotate by air constrained by said fan to pass through said mat and means also on the flanges of said casing for elevating predetermined quantities of Water from said reservoir and depositing the same onto the periphery of said mat as said casing rotates.

3. In an evaporative air cooler, a cabinet having water reservoir in its bottom and a fan for moving air therethrough a panel opposite the air discharge of said cabinet having an opening therein. a pervious filter mat over said opening, a foraminous casing for said mat, having annular telescopically related flanges provided with circumferentially spaced apertures, impeller blades arranged integral with one of said flanges and adapted to overlie one face of said casing and through which air is drawn by said fan to effect rotation of said mat casing and means embracing the apertures in said flanges for elevating water from said reservoir and depositing the same through said apertures onto said mat during rotation of said casing.

4. In an apparatus for cooling air, a cabinet, a liquid reservoir therein, a panel in one end of said cabinet having an opening therein, a pervious filter mat, a foraminous casing therefor rotatably disposed over said opening, telescop ically related flanges on said casing'impeller blades carried by one of said flanges and overopening in said panel, a series of angularly disposed blades radially arranged on one of the flanges of said casing and by which said casing is rotated by air moving against said blades and a series of circumferentially spaced cups carried by one of the flanges of said casing and aligned with apertures in the companion flange for elevating water from the bottom of said cabinet to a point above said mat for discharge thereinto during rotation of said casing.

RICHARD D. THORNTON. 

